In today’s world, getting a laptop has essentially become a necessity, whether for school or your career. The convenience it provides, combined with its portability, makes it important for nearly anyone, especially someone who travels or has to complete work at their home. However, laptops come in all shapes and forms, and there may be certain criteria that you’re looking for in a laptop. You might not even realize what you want in a new laptop and have no idea where to start. Whether your concerns about the type of laptop you purchase are purely cosmetic or technical, you should always do your research before investing in a piece of equipment as powerful (and expensive) as a laptop. If you do not know where to go, here are some baseline qualities to look for the right laptop for you.
Battery Life
It seems like a given, but battery life is essential in purchasing any electronic. There are many things that can influence the battery life of a laptop, such as screen resolution and the number of apps that are installed into the interface. Smaller laptops generally hold the edge in battery life, due to their smaller displays and lower energy output as opposed to their larger counterparts. For a general 15-inch laptop, you could expect five to seven hours on a full charge, and that number increases to 8-10 on a larger model. When your laptop is newer, you’re also going to find that your computer has a longer battery life than as time goes on.
Storage
This consideration is important because laptops generally only have room for one disk, and you need to make sure it is large enough to accommodate all of your files. So if you are looking to upload a lot of music and photos, along with important documents, you should be aiming in the 500 GB range for sufficient space. If you store most of your files in a cloud or external hard drive, then you should aim for a minimum storage of 120 GB.
Screen resolution
As you can probably imagine, prettier looking screens cost more. One example of this would be the premium display of Apple’s MacBook retina displays. That alone puts a hefty price tag on the computer, but if you are looking for a gorgeous display, check the screen resolution for each product.
Connectivity
This detail is important in regards to saving files and uploading new ones. Look for laptops that can accommodate USB 3.0 and SD card slots allowing you to use flash drives and SD cards. Also, consider that many recent laptops do not have built-in DVD readers.